Independence

I try really hard to foster independence in my children.  If there is something they can do themselves, I encourage them to do it.  I had so many college roommates who had never done basic things like laundry or writing checks and I don't want my kids to leave home unprepared.  Not that anyone needs to know how to write a check anymore, and not that my kids are leaving home for another decade and a half, but it's a parenting philosophy that I think works best when you start young.  And the kids seem to mostly enjoy it.  Like this, "Mom, I knew you were busy, so I got my own yogurt."